Football News: Review Of The Day 17th April 2018

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Review of the Day

South Africa Backs Morocco's World Cup Bid

The South Africa Football Association has given its 'unqualified' support to Morocco in its bid to host the 2026 World Cup. This is Morocco's 5th attempt to win hosting rights for the World Cup and they are up against a joint bid from Canada, Mexico and the United States. Morocco already have the backing of Algeria and Guinea-Bissau.

Croatia And Brazil Set To Face Each Other In Warm Up

Croatia and Brazil will continue their World Cup warm up by facing each other at Anfield on Sunday 3rd June. The two have only faced each three times before, but the game is probably more notable for the possible return of Brazilian Philippe Coutinho to Anfield for the first time since his contentious January move to Barcelona.

VAR Causes Chaos In Bundesliga

Mayhem ensued in the German top flight after the use of VAR saw both teams called back out of the dressing room at half time for a penalty to be taken. The players had left the pitch for their half time cuppa when the video assistant referee system decided the referee had made a mistake and missed a penalty for Mainz 05 in their relegation battle with Freiburg. The referee, Guido Winkmann, had to recall both sides after consulting with VAR and deciding it was a handball, with Mainz midfielder Pablo de Blasis converting the penalty after a delay of over six minutes. More chaos followed at the start of the second half, as Bundesliga fans continued their ongoing protests against Monday night games by pelting the pitch with toilet paper, causing a delay to the kick off.

Timbers Owner Punished For Ref Criticism

The owner of MLS side Portland Timbers, Merritt Paulson, has been fined an undisclosed amount by the league for comments he made about match officials after the Timbers 3-2 defeat to Orlando City. Portland were 2-0 up until late in the second half and made a comeback in part due to a penalty award and a sending off for Sebastian Blanco. Paulson wrote on Twitter: "No way in a million years thats a penalty. Disgraceful. How do you not VAR that. Tried it once early but he got us in the end. Joke."

Bayern Suffer Vidal Injury Blow

With the Champions League semi-final matches against Real Madrid coming up soon, Bayern Munich have been hit by an injury to star midfielder Arturo Vidal. Manager Jupp Heynckes has confirmed that the Chilean needs surgery on a troublesome knee injury. Heynckes said: "He slipped and went down. I've just spoken to (team) doctor (Hans-Wilhelm) Muller-Wohlfahrt on the phone. He's had an MRI scan. Arturo has a loose body in his knee. That's preventing him stretching. He's already on his way to Augsburg. He needs keyhole surgery on his knee. Arturo will definitely be out of action for a while."

Batshuayi Ruled Out For The Season

Michy Batshuayi's loan spell from Chelsea to Borussia Dortmund has been ended by ankle ligament damage suffered against Schalke. The Belgium striker will now face a race against time to get fit in time to play for his country in this summer's World Cup in Russia. Batshuayi posted on Instagram: "Well it's not good news for now, my season is probably over, and I wont be able to pay Dortmund back for their confidence. Thank you all the amazing amount of love I received since yesterday. Wishing my teammates the best for the final days. See you soon."

MacLean To Join Hearts

Veteran St Johnstone striker Steven MacLean will be leaving in the summer to sign for SPFL rivals Heart of Midlothian. St Johnstone boss Tommy Wright said: "Hearts contacted us last week to let us know they were speaking to Steven and the expectation was that he'd sign for them on a pre-contract. It's a shame to see him go, but we wish him all the best because he's been a fantastic servant to this football club since he joined in 2012. I don't think Steven owes the club or I anything. He's been an asset to the squad both on and off the pitch and has been a great example for our younger players. I'm probably the manager he's played under the longest in his career and he's always done fantastic for me. I can see the attraction for Steven and Hearts is a big club. At this stage in his career, it's a move he felt he couldn't turn down and, as I said, I don't feel like he owes us anything and we wish him well for his new challenge."

Written by Tris Burke April 17 2018 06:29:52